


What Money Can't Buy

by UselessLesbianLaughter



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, SuperCorp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 15:16:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15933083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UselessLesbianLaughter/pseuds/UselessLesbianLaughter
Summary: Cat organizes an auction for charity. Supergirl agrees to auction off her old cape. Things progress and suddenly she finds herself auctioning off a 20-second kiss. Who will win? Could it be the billionaire with an ominous last name sitting in the audience?





	What Money Can't Buy

**Author's Note:**

> Based on that Charlize Theron auction-kiss. (http://hopeless-and-lesbian.tumblr.com/post/177418341346/batmanisagatewaydrug-knedli-twenty-gayteen) 
> 
> A thousand thank-yous to vonne-gut on Tumblr for beta-reading, this fic wouldn't be half as good without you.
> 
> Oh, also, Kara works for Cat but it's S3 and we're just going to ignore that.

“Keira? I need to get in touch with Supergirl. Can you arrange that?”

 

“Of course, Miss Grant. When would you like to-”

 

“Within the hour, preferably, I’ve got other things to do.”

 

Kara nodded and stepped back. An hour would be an impossible deadline to meet, were she not Supergirl herself. The job had its perks, strange as they were sometimes. Kara figured she could finish up some paperwork in the meantime.

 

Exactly 55 minutes later, Supergirl appeared just above Cat Grant’s office balcony, hovering in the air as the CEO noticed her and stepped outside.

 

“Supergirl, lovely to see you,”  she greeted briefly. Before Supergirl had time to respond, she continued, “The reason I called you here tonight is slightly unorthodox. I’m arranging a charity event, gathering money for refugee children. We need a big name attached and, thanks to me, you’re the biggest name in National City.”

 

Supergirl waited a moment for Cat to ask, but the question never came. She answered anyway.

“I’ll do it. I love charity.”

 

“Of course you do, it’s charity. Anyway, do you have anything of sentimental value you’d be willing to auction off? Crime scene mementos, old costumes…”

 

Supergirl took a moment to think. Her eyes lit up with an idea.

 

“I still have my first cape. It’s full of bullet holes, though.”

 

“That’s perfect,” Cat said. Supergirl beamed, still casually flying. “This Saturday, 1PM sharp, Harbour Green Park. Be there.” Cat added.

 

Supergirl nodded.  Two beats of almost-awkward silence followed. 

 

“You’re dismissed.” 

Supergirl nodded again and flew into the night. It was Thursday, the auction was in two days’ time. It wasn’t the worst way to spend a weekend, and it was for charity, after all. In a way, she had been a child refugee herself, years ago, and it felt good to be a part of a pay-it-forward.

 

Saturday came with sunny weather and birds chirping over the chorus of traffic noises. Harbour Green Park was calm — and nearly quiet, delightfully so. Cat had managed to gather quite a crowd, bigger than the crowd of protestors at Lena’s speech the last time she was there. It wasn’t exactly a fond memory of Kara’s.

 

Still, it could actually be nice to overwrite that memory with a nicer one. She knew Lena would be in the audience today, reversing their positions since last time. Frankly, Lena was only there because Kara had asked her to.

 

“Welcome everyone! Thank you for coming, everyone, we appreciate your support, it really is such an important cause. We’ve got a guest of honour today, everyone say hello to Supergirl!”

 

That was Kara’s cue. Cape-crusading Supergirl landed next to the podium with a winning smile, waving hello. She was greeted with a roaring applause and cheering. 

 

“She’s auctioning off her very first cape today! Can we see the item?”

 

A suit previously sitting in the background stood up and carried the cape to the front, demonstrating it from every possible angle. It felt weird to Kara, that people would be willing to pay great amounts of money for a broken piece of fabric. Still, it  _ was _ for charity.

 

“Bidding starts at $1000. Oh, we already have $2000, coming from the back we have 2000, do we have 2500? Do I see 2500? Oh! We have 3000. 5000! $5000 in the front row!”

 

The auction was impossibly fast-paced, people were bidding one after the other — that is, until they weren’t anymore. Bids climbed to $37,000 with ease And then it just stopped. . That was the highest anyone would go. $37,000 wasn’t even a quarter of the goal. The silence was maddening.

 

Finally, Cat Grant stood from her seat and whispered something to Supergirl. 

 

Kara mouthed an exasperated  _ ‘What?’ _

 

“It’s for charity,” Cat whispered back, a bit louder this time. She shrugged. Kara was still in shock. 

 

A few seconds later, she sighed and quietly said, “Fine. I’ll do it. For charity.” Cat nodded in approval and waltzed over to the auctioneer.

 

And then: “Breaking news! Supergirl will be auctioning off a 20-second kiss as well as the cape!” The auctioneer’s voice echoed loudly over the speakers, sparking the crowd back to life.

 

Immediately, the wealthier men in the audience began bidding higher. $50,000 from the last row. $80,000 from the first row. $95,000 somewhere in the middle. They were getting closer to their initial goal, which was great news, but the auction was also nearing its end, which wasn’t too great for Kara. There was just something about making out with a musty rich guy, a complete stranger on top of that, for nearly half a minute that failed to excite her.

 

And then, out of nowhere, someone bid $170,000 — already 10K over the initial goal. And then the noise died. No one seemed willing or able to outbid him.

 

Lena, meanwhile, sat in the audience watching Supergirl grow increasingly uncomfortable looking at the presumptive winner — an older man in an ill-fitting suit, greasy and sloppy, probably last shaved in the ’80s. 

 

She sighed and put up her bidding paddle.“180,000..

 

“180,000!” the auctioneer yelled. “Will anyone outbid 180,000? Do we have 190,000?”

 

The audience fell silent.

 

“190,000,” the man in the ill-fitting suit said.

 

Lena sighed more deeply this time.

 

“200,000.”

 

This time no one tried to outbid her. It was settled. She’d won the auction. Supergirl’s old cape was going to someone else, but she’d won the 20-second kiss and, frankly, she was terrified.

 

“Would the highest bidder please join us up here?” The question echoed through her mind as she made her way up to the podium, the same one where she’d nearly gotten shot. Was it possible that she was more nervous this time?

 

When she saw Supergirl, it was like seeing gratitude effectively summarized in a single person.

“Looked like you needed saving,” she told her, voice hushed, apologetic. Kara nodded and chuckled under her breath. 

 

It was obvious, then, what was expected of them. Lena would be lying were she to say she’d never thought or even fantasized about kissing Supergirl but this, this scenario in particular, had never crossed her mind. It was just as unexpected for Kara, if not more, who, likewise, couldn’t t say she had never thought about Lena that way, though still entirely shocked by the turn the day had taken.

 

The crowd was going wild at this point. No way out.

 

It was Lena who closed the distance, throwing herself into it as if to say  _ Oh, what the hell! _ . Her hand softly cupped Supergirl’s cheek and she leaned in for the kiss.

 

“1! 2! 3! 4!” the auctioneer loudly counted.

 

She’d always imagined this kiss as a moment where the world would melt away. It wasn’t like that. She was very much aware of the presence of the crowd and it bothered her. She wanted to concentrate on the softness of Supergirl’s lips and the butterflies in her stomach, rather than the jeers of hundreds of bystanders. 

 

The same could be said about Kara, of course. More so, though, she wished she could exist in the moment as Kara Danvers, not Supergirl, and not just for auction. She decided then it was time to come clean about her superhero alter ego. She’d been hiding it from Lena for too long.

 

“10! 11! 12! 13!” the auctioneer yelled.

 

Kara deepened the kiss. She was certain she would never get the chance to do this again and, despite the crowd, she was enjoying this more than she should’ve, could’ve or thought she would’ve. She wanted to cherish the moment, trying her best to ignore the crowd, apparently doing their very damn best to ruin this moment — not difficult with superhearing.

 

“15! 16! 17! 18!”

 

It was almost over. Both women tried to make the most of the last two seconds.

 

“20!”

 

They didn’t pull apart immediately, in fact, at least two seconds went by before they finally split and broke the kiss. The crowd roared with a massive, supportive, albeit slightly creepy applause.

 

They stared at each other, everything a bit awkward and uncomfortable now that the world had faded back into reality. Kara tried to smile. Lena did her best to smile back. It fell flat.

 

They realized this meant a discussion was waiting for them in the future, a conversation uncomfortable enough to be desired by no one. It also meant a pile of slightly uncomfortable to highly unfortunate news headlines and excessive attention from the press.

 

What they didn’t realize in the heat of the moment was that they would spend three entire days avoiding each other, clutching pillows and stressing about the conversation that lied ahead, too worried about the possible negative outcome to face it. How ironic it was, then, that of the two women one was a superhero and the other a billionaire woman in business, among the most fearless creatures on the planet, perhaps the galaxy. And yet.

 

Still, after three days, the confrontation came as they both knew it would. Supergirl showed up at Lena’s office balcony after-hours, knowing full well that the woman would still be working. She descended slowly, landing gently and knocking on the glass door, perking Lena’s attention.

 

She was surprised beyond a doubt as she got up and walked to the door, hands shaking.

 

“Supergirl?”

 

“I suppose we have to talk.” Kara’s voice was somewhat timid, above everything very  _ Kara  _ despite the cape.

 

“I suppose we do.” Lena nodded, opening the door fully and letting Kara in. The gust of cold wind hit her in the face with more force than she expected but she kept her composure.

 

“First, I should really show you something,” Kara said.

 

“And that is?”

 

Kara pulled her hair back first, securing it in an easy ponytail that brought out her features much more than the golden curls known with the image of Supergirl.

 

“I’ve been meaning to ask you that, how do you fight with your hair down like that? Does it not get in the way? Kryptonian genetics?” Lena inquired, interrupting Kara’s big revelation, inciting a meager chuckle.

 

Kara, without answering, proceeded to put on her glasses. While still in her supersuit, it was undeniable that the woman in front of Lena looked a lot more like Kara Danvers cosplaying as Supergirl than Supergirl.

 

“Oh, Kara, I know,” Lena said, voice steady, calm and soft, much like waves washing up to shore.

 

“You knew?!” Kara’s eyes flew wide open. “How long? How long have you known?” she demanded.

Lena shrugged, walking over to the other end of her spacious office to pour herself and Kara a drink. “I’ve known for three days. Frankly, I’ve had my suspicions for a while, it’s not for long that you can ignore someone having that uncanny similarity, but until then I’d always brushed it off as semantics of the mind, wishful thinking, even. Trick of the light. I suspected but I very much didn’t know for sure until, well…”

 

“ _ That’s _ when you knew?” Kara followed Lena, meeting her half-way and accepting the drink she was offered.

 

Lena shrugged yet again. “It’s an intimate experience. Kara, you’re my friend, someone I trust, know. Supergirl is an acquaintance, barely past a stranger. You can’t fake that type of trust or familiarity, even.”

 

A beat of silence followed.

 

“Are you mad I didn’t tell you earlier?”

 

“No. Frankly, I should be. Consciously and rationally I acknowledge I should be but I’m not. And you did choose to tell me now. Better late than never.”

 

Another beat of silence followed, each moment increasingly uncomfortable, each sparking greater tension in its passing.

 

“So, what happens to us now?” Kara asked cautiously.

 

“I don’t know.” Lena shook her head. “I suppose that’s up to us.”

 

“I suppose so.”

 

“Frankly, I’d like the next time I kiss you not to be in front of a crowd of men.”

 

“You’re saying there’s going to be a next time?” Kara asked, her eyes filling with hope.

 

“I’m saying I would like there to be a next time,” Lena replied and took a sip of her drink. She paused to swallow, savoring the strong bite of the whiskey. “Would you?”

 

The way she said those two words made Kara’s knees go weak. She felt unable to say anything in response, though desperate to communicate a positive response. What ended up happening was an exasperated Kara, just slightly short of breath, stuttering for a while and finally settling for a thumbs up.

 

Lena laughed, loud, bold yet still warm and gentle, loving, even. “I’ll take that as a yes?”

 

“Please do,” Kara replied with a smile.

 

Lena put down her glass, empty now though it hadn’t contained much liquid in the first place, and took a step closer. She slid her fingers through Kara’s hair, cupping the back of her head and pulling her into a kiss, gentle, quiet, small yet meaningful. Kara melted into it, like this moment was everything she’d ever been waiting for, perfect in its imperfection.

 

It was not what either of them had expected save for one thing- it was a beginning. A promise for many more good things to come, and a future full of love.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, please do leave a comment in you enjoyed this even the tiniest bit. I know my feedback vampire joke is getting tired but I really do live on feedback, feed me your comments, I'm starving to death *melodramatic forehead touch*.


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